Channel mix – self assessment

Two key areas to think about

There are so many factors to take into account with the Channel Mix.  And many organisations have nailed them.  Even so there are a couple of areas that seem still to trip people up:

  1. Helping employees navigate effortlessly between different types of message
  2. Ensuring the channels can support employee feedback at all times and in all work environments.

If your channel mix is going to be DFVP, you need to be sure you’ve addressed these two issues successfully.  Scroll down to assess how fit your  Channel Mix is…

1. Navigating different types of message

A. The common blind-spot

It’s vital that employees know which channels to go to for different types of information.  It may not be appropriate for the latest news about a product launch to be in the same place as information about reporting a broken chair.  

But it’s not just the subjects you may need to differentiate.  Some messages include calls to action.  Others a providing a heads up about future changes.  Others still provide ‘How to’ instructions.  The channel mix needs to make it easy to navigate these too.

B. The consequences

If people don’t know where to look for different types of message they may ignore the wrong things – which could hurt their performance. 

Or they may struggle to find information they need.  So they may waste time searching in vain.  Or they may need to ask someone else  – consuming that person’s time as well.  Or they might decide to just guess – which could lead to mistakes which will take more time to put right, and potentially hurt their own and possibly the organisation’s reputation. 

C. The self-assessment

Does your organisation’s channel mix make it effortless for every employee to distinguish different types of message, so they know

  • what to attend to, 
  • where to find the quality of information they need?

2. Supporting employee feedback everywhere

A. The common blind-spot

People often invest huge amounts of time and effort to ensure employees can access the communications they need in almost any work location.  Of course that’s really important.  

But communicating is a two-way process (one way is called ‘broadcasting’).  And although employees may be able to receive information in any place, the channel mix may not always enable them to respond in the moment if they have an issue with what’s in front of them.

B. The consequences

If people can’t feedback, in the moment, they may forget about the issue.  Perhaps they’re distracted by other things when they again have access to the relevant channel.

So there’s a risk that issues may fester, rather than being nipped in the bud.  This could mean storing up trouble for later.

C. The self-assessment

Is your channel mix set up to support effective feedback from employees in every location where they may wish or need to provide it?

If not, and you’d like to keep your key decision-makers’ fingers on the pulse, you can…

…Find the solution here